Order of Outcasts
"To be separate and different is to be hated." Outcasts are Adepts recruited from the losers, the nerds and failures among mankind. Through a life of harboring their own personal commitments against the will of the crowd, they are often highly self-aware individuals whose personal beliefs they take very seriously. And in their loneliness and isolation, God shows them favor and reveals His face to them. God is infinite and all powerful, to look upon His face is to know true reality, however, such a thing is not possible for mere creatures. To look upon God's face is to know death, in the same way that to move closer to a fire is to be consumed by its heat and flames. Outcasts have been granted some reprieve from this, for while in their invisible or incorporeal state, they can often see an uncreated light that bleeds from everywhere... Aspect of God: The Unseen AKA: The Unseen. Outcast Degrees Facts: -Outcasts often produce a supernatural aura of freakishness or horror which causes other non-Outcasts to feel a sense of disgust towards them. Stereotypically, the Outcast are the weird friends or acquaintances which everyone knows but wants to avoid. -This feature of the Order is probably their most characteristic, that wherever they go, the Outcast are never wanted. They are separated and spoken of as beneath everyone else. Even normally good and God-fearing people will often succumb to their unknown prejudices and dislike the Adepts of the Order of Outcasts. -Outcasts have learned to form their own Order-wide network, trading information and resources among themselves. They've long realized that, if no one else wants them, at least they have God and each other. -The Unseen move through the world as God's secret agents, ferreting out the forces of Darkness wherever they may be and delivering them into the light of day. Equipped with powers of invisibility, the Unseen make for perfect scouts and wardens. -Outcasts can become Incorporeal, an ability that lets Unseen remain in this world but only as immaterial shades of themselves. They temporarily lack physical substance, allowing them to pass through walls or other barriers without harm. Younger Unseen cannot use both powers at the same time, but the older and more experienced ones can. -When you're outnumbered and picked on, often the only way to get back is to be snarky and sarcastic. Because of that, your average Outcast will probably know a thing or two about being a smartass. Social Affliction: All Outcast suffer from an aura of freakishness that causes others to hate them, even if they don't realize it on a fully conscious level. Outcast, even when in disguise or under a supernatural cover such as an illusion, must still endure the disdain of all those around them. Even fellow Adepts are not immune to this Affliction. The Affliction does not lead directly to violence, although it does pave the way for confrontations. The Affliction is only strong enough to make people dislike Outcasts, and it can affect almost anyone or anything with true sentience. The only people who seem "immune" to the Affliction are those who, like the Outcast, possess a high level of self-awareness and make the conscious effort not to hate others based on appearance. Steady Employment: One of the hardest things about being an Outcast is steady employment. People who stick out in a community tend to have rumors and gossip gather up about them, these half-lies have a tendency to be taken as fact by others. Frequently Outcasts struggle to get a job interview, and even when they do they often suffer in the work place, being ignored and left out of the social hierarchy or even actively ostracized by supervisors and coworkers. Don't underestimate the stress and anxiety of such a situation for an Outcast. When you know that every job you take will be rocky and uncertain, how do you cope? How do you live with the uncertainty? According to established Outcast thinking, you manage your skills and work extra hard. Employers live by their bottom lines, so a hard worker is a hard worker. Even then, though, an Outcast understands that they can always be replaced somehow, so they develop 'universal skills' like languages, computer stuff, marketing, accounting, medical certifications, things which open up a lot of doors for them into businesses that are fluid but relatively stable. For an Outcast, a reputation is more important than a career. And marketable skills is the key to a secure job future, knowing that the minute things get too hot at your current job, you can just move on to another. Employers may want experience or good grades, but what they hire people for is what those people can do for them. Therefore, it is not knowledge but skills that gets you jobs, what you can actually do for someone. Factions: -Freak Show = These Outcasts follow in the traditions of the traveling circus or freak show. They often have both Outcasts as well as Initiated in their groups, groups which normally posses a family-like quality and whose members are loyal to one another. -Doubting Thomas = This Faction of Unseen use their powers of invisibility to explore the more mysterious places of the world and return with the knowledge of what they've discovered. References: -Cornerstone Festival on Wikipedia -http://www.christiangoth.com/ -https://www.facebook.com/gothsforchrist -http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-goth-gothic.html -http://www.patheos.com/blogs/inklingations/2014/10/08/in-defense-of-christian-subculture/ -http://hipsterchristianity.com/ -http://christian-punk-rock.com/